Just to See You Smile
by princessphilomena
Summary: A 14 year old Klavier befriends Ema, but she'd devastated to learn that he has to leave in a month. Determined to keep a smile on her face despite it, he tasks himself with a mission to make her smile every day, and each day even after he's gone. K x E


**Author's Notes:**

A very big sorry to all those who were waiting for an update on _Yours to Keep_. I have managed to distract myself by writing yet another Klavier x Ema oneshot.

This one, however, takes on a different genre/atmosphere than my usual Klavier x Ema stories. I suppose you could consider this AU, or you could just disregard Apollo Justice. This story totally clashes with how they interact in AJ, but if you temporarily pretend the fourth game doesn't exist (well, except without pretending _Klavier_ doesn't exist), this could work.

Here, Ema is fifteen, and Klavier is fourteen. They're obviously OOC, because it's a decade before we meet them in AJ, and even before we first ever meet Ema. I like imagining them young, because I think their chemistry just has so much more potential. Instead of the "I hate you, glimmerous fop" and "Fraulein Ema plays hard-to-get", I think a teenage crush situation that blooms from a friendship is deeper, and has a cute, innocent feel to it. (I'll explain more after you read.)

One more thing: I again dedicate this to my sister **madscientists **whose birthday is tomorrow (or today, depending on where you live.) I hope this isn't too much a disappointment. Happy birthday!

* * *

**Just to See You Smile**

People say that opposites attract.

When the teacher first assigned Ema to show her new exchange-student-seat-neighbour around, Ema would have never believed that she and Klavier Gavin could get along.

Especially not when Ema spent the whole first day waving her arms like a madwoman in what she thought could work as sign language to Klavier, only to have him inform her (at the _end_ of the day) that he had taken English as a second language ever since he was eight.

Then there was the fact that for the entire first week, he followed her _everywhere_, claiming that he'd get lost if he didn't.

Or how he would lean over every few minutes as she was trying to work and sing some random song until she threatened to stab him with her pencil if he didn't be quiet. And when the teacher asked what the ruckus was about, he threw an arm around Ema's shoulders and grinned.  
"She was explaining to me how opposite poles of magnets naturally attract each other, like us. She's the greatest seat neighbour ever. Thanks, Miss!"  
And Ema was counting the seconds until he let go.

Yet somehow, despite it all, the two of them ended up the best of friends, six months later.

Perhaps it was because of the time Ema accidentally locked herself in a lab doing an experiment (without permission, of course) and luckily had Klavier come to save her from some major trouble. He convinced a custodian that he'd left something vitally important in the room, and once inside, he managed to trip over a stool and yank down a shelf of textbooks with him so that Ema could slip out unnoticed.

Or maybe it was all those lunches that Ema's friends left to watch the senior boys play football, and Klavier opted to accompany her instead of joining band.

Or it might have been the time Ema fell asleep in class and the teacher got so angry that she threatened to fail Ema if she performed badly on the test the next day. At lunchtime, Klavier borrowed a guitar from the music teacher and wrote Ema a song about chemical reactions, leading her to score a startling 97 percent.

It could have been the numerous lunches they ended up spending together, talking about anything from the judicial system to bananas.

Perhaps it was their seemingly contrasting personalities, and yet how their juxtaposition complemented each other perfectly. He was music, she was science; his brother was defence, her sister was prosecution, but they found that they shared that same persistence towards the truth. He hated the liars and bullies; she hated the superficiality and gossip.

He loved to see her smile; she loved that he could always make her laugh.

It appeared that opposites, indeed, did attract.

But for Klavier, there was always something that loomed over their happy days together. He dreaded the day when she would have to find out.  
It was one beautiful day in May, during lunchtime, when he was forced to break the bad news to her.

She was reading the Science Club's monthly newsletter when she glanced up at him with a grin. "Science Club is holding a three day camping trip in July. Do you want to go?"

The question caught Klavier unaware. He opened his mouth to answer, but hesitated, unsure of how to tell her.

"I...I'm not going to be here in July," he confessed, looking down.

"Huh?" she paused, thoroughly confused, and no longer so interested in her newsletter. "Why?"

"I'm going back to Germany at the end of June." There was a moment of silence, and then he dropped the bomb. "I don't think I'm coming back after that."

It took a moment for the news to sink in. Hurt, confusion, disappointment and anger all flashed across Ema's usually cheery face.

"What?? You're leaving? Since when was this decided?"

Klavier cringed, knowing he owed her a very big apology. "I'm just an exchange student...I was only ever supposed to stay for one school year."

"And you never even mentioned this to me? What kind of friend are you?" She forcefully pushed down her pink sunglasses and turned away, so that he wouldn't see the tears that were suddenly filling her eyes.

"Ach, I'm sorry, Ema. I didn't mean..."

"I don't care! I hate you, Klavier Gavin, so don't ever talk to me again!" With that, she ran out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Ema was already at her seat with her face buried in her textbook when Klavier returned to class after lunch. He sat down almost timidly, as if squeaking his chair would make her yell at him again.

"Here's your bag. You left it on the table. And I didn't touch anything inside."

Ema snatched it back without a word, and without looking at him from behind the textbook that was now serving as a very effective barrier between the two.

Thirty minutes later, the silence between them was getting unbearable for Klavier. He decided that getting yelled at by her again was better than the awful silent treatment.

_Besides_, he reasoned, _how bad could it be?_

He placed a hand on top of her textbook, slowly pulling it towards him and hoping that she wouldn't notice right away and poke his eye out or something. But when he realized exactly why she'd put up a wall, he knocked over the textbook in surprise. She jumped, startled, and instantly snatched the book back to hide her red eyes.

Klavier felt a wave of guilt wash over him. _I made her cry!_

"Ema?"

She ignored him.

"I'm sorry, Ema. I shouldn't have kept that from you. I thought that the later you knew about it, the longer you could stay happy for. But it wasn't fair for me to do that."

She continued ignoring him.

"I know I completely deserve it, but are you going to spend my last month here refusing to talk to me?"

Ema still said nothing, but she snapped the textbook shut and placed it on her desk so that it was no longer serving as a barrier.

Well, at least he was half-forgiven.

But forgiven or not, Klavier still felt terrible that he'd made her cry, and he was determined to put that smile back on her face no matter what he had to do.

He sat there for a moment, pondering what would make her smile, and then leaned over to take the coloured gel pens from Ema's pencil case. She only gave him a sideways glance; this had become such a habit that he didn't even need to ask anymore.

Ema was buried in her work, keen on ignoring Klavier, until she noticed what he was doodling on from the corner of her eye.

"You're defiling the textbook!" she gasped, luckily out of earshot of the teacher.

He lifted his head only to grin and wink at her, and then returned to his newest art piece.

"Stop it! You're going to get into so much trouble!" She pulled on his arm urgently, making him stop, and then saw what he had done.

On a picture of what had originally been a group of normal, smiling scientists, Klavier had drawn ridiculous moustaches, exaggerated eyelashes and atrocious makeup. With Ema's red pen, he had made sure that every person (regardless of gender) had nice, full, bright red lips, and he had also used the black to colour in the occasional tooth on whichever unfortunate person smiling with their mouth open. And above all their heads was a speech bubble reading "I'm sorry!"

Ema gaped at the picture for a split second, and then promptly burst out laughing. She was sure that these were well-respected scientists, and laughing at their undignified state was not a very nice thing to do, but she couldn't help herself. Not when they all looked so absurdly silly.

Klavier smiled sheepishly. "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"

"That wasn't fair!" Ema pouted slightly. "But," she confessed, surrendering, "I probably wouldn't have stayed mad at you for long anyways."

A wide smile broke across Klavier's face. "Really?"

Ema sighed. "Well, I still wish that you hadn't kept it from me," she admitted. "But I guess you had your reasons. I'm sad that you're going, but since that's not going to change, we might as well have the best month ever, right?"

Klavier felt like hugging her. Ema was rarely so emotionally honest; her head was so filled with science that it didn't leave her much space to be sentimental.

"Don't worry, Ema. We'll have such an amazing month that you won't forget a single day of it," Klavier vowed, hooking his pinky finger onto hers and shaking it. "I promise."

* * *

Klavier was not one to go back on his word. Every day, he arrived at school with something or some way to make Ema laugh or smile.

On Monday, he presented her with a forensic science handbook, signed by her favourite prosecutor (aside from her sister, that is).

_To Miss Ema_, it read. _Always try your best in everything you do, and I'm sure you will meet success wherever you go. Study hard, and always keep that beautiful smile on your face._

_Best wishes,_

_Miles Edgeworth_

Ema squealed when she saw it. "Do you think he remembers me from the time I waved to him at the prosecutor's office? Ah!! He even said that I have a beautiful smile!" she gushed.

Klavier smiled amusedly as he watched her. He'd told her that he'd bumped into Edgeworth when he was at the courthouse, waiting for Kristoph's trial to end. However, he'd left out the part about how Edgeworth only signed it because he was in a rush to pick up his other suit from dry cleaning, and had just desperately wanted to get rid of the very persistent Gavin Junior. Klavier had also neglected to mention that he'd been the one to dictate the message.

_Well_, he reasoned to himself. _As long as she's happy._

On Tuesday, Klavier brought in the very (embarrassing) first English composition he had ever written, titled "I Lick to Paly Gutar."

"I lick to paly gutar," Ema read aloud, "becuse it souns god. I paly for two ours evry day. My bruder say it hurt his ear. I think it is becuse there is a spydr in his ear. I saw that on telewison. Somebudy had a spydr in his ear. Then one day, it fall out. The spydr is daed."

Ema was laughing so hard that she was gasping for breath and couldn't finish reading it. When the end of lunch bell rang, the two of them were so hysterical that they could barely stand up and walk to class.

From then on, all Klavier had to whisper was "I lick to paly gutar" to get Ema started on a laughing fit.

After school on Wednesday, he dragged her outside, flagged down the ice cream truck, and bought her an adorable blue popsicle, complete with gumball eyes and a nose.

Ema made a mock frown. "He's too cute to eat!"

Klavier stuck his hands in his pockets and mumbled shyly, "I think you're cuter," before dashing off to find his brother's car.

Ema stood there for a minute, dumbfounded, until she spotted his car leaving the parking lot.

"Klavier!" she called out, and he rolled down his window to wave bye to her, his cheeks still pink.

"Thank you!" she grinned shyly, and waved until his car turned out onto the street.

On Thursday, Klavier brought in a pack of beads and a roll of fishing string. Throughout the whole day, he jumped at every moment of free time to carefully make what was looking like a beaded bunny. Curious, Ema asked him what the rush was. Without looking up from his work, he replied, "It's for a very special girl I know. So I have to give this to her in time before I leave."

The news seemed to deflate Ema. Without a word, she propped up her textbook and pretended to be fascinated by parabolic equations and applications of the quadratic formula.

Klavier almost laughed to himself as he glanced up briefly. It was kind of cute to see how jealous she was. Especially since she didn't even notice that her book was upside down.

Later, when he finally finished it, he dangled it in front of her. "I would have made you a Petri dish or something, but I thought this was cuter."

Ema was flabbergasted. "It's for me??"

"Well," he said slowly, a shy smile spreading across his face. "I _did_ say it was for a very special girl. Who else could it have been?"

And so, their month continued, full of smiles and laughter, and some of the best memories both of them would ever have. It was like the explosive finale of a fireworks show, and Klavier wished that he could capture all those moments somehow, especially when he saw that brilliant smile light up Ema's face.

On the last Friday, Klavier handed Ema a CD.

"Some of the songs are your favourites, and some of them just reminded me of you. So I learned them all by ear on the guitar and sang to them. I hope you like it."

Ema pulled a handmade card and a guitar pick she had decorated herself out of her bag.

"I'm sorry it's not very much," she added apologetically.

He gave her a reproachful look. "Don't say that, Ema. You made this the most memorable school year ever, and that's more than enough."

"I never really did anything...it was all you making it special."

"It would have never been so special if it weren't for you."

Ema didn't know how to counter the conviction in Klavier's voice. Instead, she switched the topic.

"Is this the last time I'm going to see you?" She tried to make her tone light, but her eyes gave her away.

Klavier felt the same pang of sadness when he heard those words, but he tried to be optimistic for her.

"I can meet you at the park tomorrow at three. I won't be able to stay long, but it's better than nothing, right?" He put on his brave smile in hopes that he'd see it reflected on her face. It worked.

"Okay," she said. "Tomorrow, then. Don't be late."

* * *

That night, Ema went home, her fingers itching to play the CD Klavier had given her, though she knew that she'd later wish that she'd waited until after he left to hear his voice again. But Ema, being Ema, couldn't wait that long. She sat down, put the CD into her CD player and plugged in her headphones, unsure of what to expect.

As promised, Klavier had learned some of her favourite songs and had played them for her. She laughed when his song about chemical reactions came on, remembering the look on their teacher's face when she handed Ema's test back.

As one song came after another, Ema realized how much time and effort Klavier had put into making her this. She felt a wave of emotion rise in her, especially when she remembered that he'd be gone in two days. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, so many questions she wanted his answers to, but it was too late for her to realize now.  
At least, that was what she thought, until she found her answers right there in his songs for her.

_If I don't say this now I will surely break  
As I'm leaving the one I want to take  
Forgive the urgency but hurry up and wait  
My heart has started to separate_

_Oh, oh, oh  
Oh, oh, oh  
Be my baby  
I'll look after you_

A few songs later,

_And I know everything about you  
I don't wanna live without you_

_I'm only up when you're not down  
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground  
It's like no matter what I do  
Well, you drive me crazy half the time  
The other half I'm only trying  
To let you know that what I feel is true  
And I'm only me when I'm with you_

And on and on the songs played. Ema felt like she was watching a slideshow of their memories together, reliving every moment through the music.

But when she reached the last song, she began to cry. Klavier had done so much for her all along, and his actions said more than anything. But nothing said more than his last song.

* * *

Klavier was already sitting on the swings when Ema got to the park. She took the swing next to his, letting her feet dangle.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey."

A silent pause followed. Their conversations had always been so spontaneous and comfortable, but when it came to saying goodbye, neither of them were sure how to start.

"So I'm never going to see you again?" Ema couldn't help but ask. _I'm not going to cry,_ she chanted to herself. _I'm not going to cry._

"Of course you will!" Klavier exclaimed. "As soon as I'm finished school in Germany, I'll come and find you. And if my band ever releases an album, I'll have to hand-deliver a signed copy to you, won't I?"

To Klavier's astonishment (and Ema's dismay), she started crying.

"Ema! I'm sorry! What did I say?" He was on his feet in an instant, leaning over her in concern.

"I listened to the CD you gave me," she told him, glancing up with tear-filled eyes. "Why did you do so much for me?"

"Oh, Ema." He'd never really hugged her before; ever since they'd become friends, he felt like it was almost sacrilegious to invade her personal space like that. But seeing her like this, he felt an impulsive need to protect her. So he cradled her against him, her head against his chest, his head on top of hers.

"I'm sorry," his voice was distressed. "It wasn't supposed to make you cry...I just wanted you to have something that could make you smile whenever you needed it."

"Why did you do all this for me?" Ema asked again, this time quieter.

Klavier paused for a moment. "Because I want you to always be happy, every day of your life. And I want you to smile through all the good times and the bad, because when you're happy, I'm happy."

He pulled away, and squatted in front of her. "Promise me, Ema? I kept my promise to you...now will you promise me this?" He gave her a small smile and held out his pinky to her.

She sniffled and looked at him through her tears. Bobbing her head, she gave him the smile he wanted to see so much and hooked her fifth finger through his.

"I promise, as long as you make sure to come back and find me one day."

* * *

Ema Skye went through a lot in her lifetime. Some people would never have been able to handle all of it, but whenever she felt like she almost couldn't make it, she would listen to that last song on her CD. And she pulled through all those hard times, because she knew that as long as she was smiling, someone else in the world would be smiling too.

_Just to see you smile  
I'd do anything that you wanted me to  
When all is said and done, I'd never count the cost  
It's worth all that's lost, just to see you smile_

* * *

**End Notes:**

So as much as I love Klavier x Ema (the pairing), I feel like it's one of the most underdeveloped relationships around. The usual reasons for their relationship is either the love/hate thing they have going on (usually humourous) or the understanding they have of each other from having been in similar situations with their siblings (usually more sentimental). So I think their relationship holds more meaning if they've gotten to know each other prior to liking each other. But that's just my personal opinion.

I mean, throughout this story, I hope it's obvious that they do like each other. But they don't ever say it straight out and start anything, which (again, in my opinion) I think is sweeter.

Um...song lyrics must be credited to: (in order of appearance) The Fray - _Look After You_, Taylor Swift - _I'm Only Me When I'm With You_ and Tim McGraw - _Just to See You Smile_ (which also inspired the title of this story). (Ahem, for the sake of playing it safe: no copyright infringement intended) If you know the actual songs, disregard the other lyrics, since I only picked out the parts that worked with my story :P

Ah, and there's a little discrepancy. Apparently, Ema gets her 97 percent when she's sixteen, and here, she's fifteen... Oh well...

So.....I'm bracing myself for the "THEY'RE SO OOC THAT THEY'RE UNRECOGNIZABLE!!! THIS IS A TERRIBLE STORY!!!"  
Well, if that's how you feel, say it if you must :P

I want to know what you guys think, okay?


End file.
